Top Chef - S6E4 Power Rankings

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING!!!
There's a lot of sneaky intel out there, but I'm endeavoring to keep this blog a spoiler-free zone. This isn't just for the readers, but for me, too -- I don't want to know what happens! As such, anything that's already been broadcast or has been posted on the official Bravo site is fair game for discussion. I will, for example, discuss the preview of next week's show at the end of the post. But if you've heard rumors that one chef has been hosting a lot of dinner parties, or that another chef was spotted boarding a plane to an exotic locale, please keep them to yourself... thanks!

Gads, this episode was humbling for me and I wasn't even there.

My fears about the quickfire proved to be mostly unfounded, and I couldn't be more thrilled. If you have to kick somebody out on a quickfire, the second chance is the way to do it. Also, it's worth noting that Tom's blog revealed that the snails were cleaned and par-cooked, a process that would have taken too much time for the contestants. So that leveled the playing field quite a bit and allowed them to focus on their creative takes rather than snail technique. Most notable part of the QF? We didn't get a full description of the snail dishes that he felt were weakest, but he didn't seem that put off by them. If so, that means that a field of 14 cooked snails, and even with a 45 minute time limit, not a single person bombed. This is remarkable.

Not as remarkable, of course, as the incredible panel of judges assembled for the elimination challenge. This would've been impressive in the final episode, to say nothing of episode four. As I said in the postmortem, where the heck do you go from there? It certainly makes you wonder what they have in store for the end of the season.

The rankings are markedly unexciting this week. But before we dive in, allow me a moment to splash a liiiiiiiitle bit of cold water on everybody, and a little history for those who are newer to Top Chef:

In season one, the cream of the crop was definitely looking like Tiffani, Harold and Lee Anne, until everybody made lamb, Lee Anne unexpectedly got the axe and Dave snuck into the finals.

In season two, Sam, widely considered the favorite, didn't make the final episode while Ilan, considered by most to be the third-best chef in the competition at best took the whole thing.

In season three, Tre, considered by most to be one of two clear frontrunners, didn't make it past midseason in a surprise elimination, while Dale L. who looked like an also-ran suddenly found his mojo in the final third of the season and narrowly missed the win.

Season four was looking to most (the judges included, apparently) like a season-long coronation of Richard Blais, until he choked away the final (his words!). Meanwhile, Dale T., considered by many to be among the top three and a near lock for the finals, was a surprise elimination a few episodes away from the finals while Lisa, who didn't cook a great dish all season, just kept hanging around and hanging around and hanging around while one other person always bombed out, and she made the final meal.

Season five was similarly seen as a season-long coronation of Stefan to most, with Jamie as his only serious competition. But Jamie became a surprise midseason elimination, while the funny/lovable/awesome but -- for most of the season -- culinarily tame Carla suddenly caught fire in the last third of the season and gave everybody a two-person battle in the finals. Except that she and Stefan then choked in the final meal and Hosea -- who most considered along for the ride -- outcooked them both to win.

Point being, yes, Jennifer, Kevin and the Brothers V. seem to be establishing themselves as a solid top tier. And yes, they could all make the finals. But history suggests that probably won't be the case. Because we can't get enough of bad sports metaphors around here, that's why they play the games.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Michael V. Quickfires 1 1 0 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 1 3 0 This top tier is making it really difficult to shuffle anybody around. Nobody's stumbling. Everybody continues to pull down wins. And I try not to shuffle the deck simply for the sake of doing so, especially when the four in question now all have four wins apiece. So at the risk of keeping things nice and boring, we're keeping the top for right where they are for the second week in a row. Should I have flip-flopped Mike V. and Jennifer? Well, she did get top mention in the quickfire. But then he's the one who took apart rabbits like R. Lee Ermey takes apart marines, and the mustard noodle that had everybody oohing and aahing was undoubtedly his work. His quickfire escargot lasagna looks like a fun little dish, even if is freaks out the pasta purist in me: "For pasta, blend flour, milk and egg yolks in a robot coupe. Place contents in a vacuum bag and cryovac until it becomes dough." Sounds practically metaphysical. But if I can get past the fact that he's making pasta dough in a food processor -- no small task, even if Italian isn't his thing -- it's hard not to get enthused about snails in veal stock, garlic, thyme, butter and parsley sandwiched between pasta with creamed chanterelles, brown butter and crushed hazelnuts. Plus, Tom called it out in his blog as one of the better dishes that didn't get airtime. So Michael stays right where he is for now.

2 Jennifer Quickfires 2 4 0 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 0 2 0 And he has three people breathing down his neck. Though I'm tempted to send Kevin or Bryan -- both of whom walked away with actual wins this week -- past Jennifer, she performed strongly enough that I'm not quite ready to pull that trigger. Another week like this from Kevin and Bryan though, and I might. Her QF pulled a lot of traditional flavors but really, really turned it up a notch, which is why she earned top mention, no doubt. She sautées chanterelles, grills ramps and blanches brussels sprout leaves, then tosses them all in -- get this -- foie fat. The snails are sautéed with preserved lemon, garlic and shallots and then the whole thing is sauced tableside with a sauce that's made by blending brown butter with yuzu and chicken stock to emulsify and topping with fresh chervil and tarragon. Drool. Meanwhile, it has been pointed out that neither snails nor sauce chasseur are seafood. And while this is true, it is also true that neither are meat (well, you've got rabbit bones in the chasseur, but -- nevermind). In any case, it's a baby step. Looks like next episode is a cowboy cookout, so I want to see a flatiron steak that rocks Colicchio's meat-lovin' world. THEN I'll call her Jennifer Norris.

3 Kevin Quickfires 1 2 0 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 1 2 0 Honestly, I'm not sure whether winning the quickfire was an award or not. When you're a chef and you have the opportunity of a lifetime, to be in the presence of a panel like that, would you rather eat with them or cook for them? I'm sure that's a difficult question to answer honestly, but I'd be curious to hear what Kevin would have to say. Anyway, Mattin notwithstanding, we get more evidence for the "bacon makes everything better" crowd (I agree... to a point), as Kevin's bacon jam seems to be what really wins over Boulud and Colicchio, the latter of whom admitted in his blog that upon returning to his kitchen, he immediately started working on his own version. This bacon jam has to be some seriously intense stuff. Though bacon fat jam may be more accurate, since as far as I can tell, it looks like he discards the cooked bacon. He renders the bacon in the oven, then removes it leaving the fat. He cooks onions in the fat until they're deep golden, adds brown sugar and chicken stock and pops it back in the oven to reduce way down. Then he adds more stock and reduces way down again. Then he seasons, adds more stock, blends, adds honey and reduces again, before finally mounting with butter. Yow.

4 Bryan Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 2 2 0 Bryan wins the elimination, the judges (thankfully) seeing through Michael I.'s treatise on teamwork. Tom says in his blog that it was clear which brain was behind the dish. Which frankly just means that he was paying attention. Two top filets of trout fused with transglutaminase activa RM and cooked sous vide with a deconstructed béarnaise thickened with xanthan gum? That doesn't exactly bear Michael Isabella's signature, even if he was on the same "let's ditch the traditional béarnaise" wavelength. Tom is once again so taken aback that I hope the culinary purists out there take note. MG has taken a beating from all kinds of critics and food nerds, but when the guy who developed a menu like Craft's is reacting so positively to Bryan's successes, that should tell you that when it's done intelligently and for the right reasons, great things can result. Anyway, I keep Bryan on the bottom of the top tier simply because the nature of his style is that it's more risky. If he makes the final showdown and can simply do his thing, my feeling right now is that he'll be on equal footing with the rest. But he also seems the most likely to flame out with a funky dish that misses the mark before then. Here's hoping that doesn't come to pass. I don't care if he does come across like an accountant in his interviews. The dude's fire is on the plate.

5 Michael I. Quickfires 0 1 0 Last Week: 8 Eliminations 0 2 1 Yes, the guy has ridden the Voltaggio train for two weeks running and he can be a big ol' bed-wetting doody head, but let's give the guy some credit. He has knocked out a couple of rockin' dishes and the only blemish on his record is the Greek salad where it seemed clear -- as stupid as it was -- that he didn't even bother trying. Which doesn't mean the guy isn't his own worst enemy, but it doesn't mean he can't cook, either. And we saw more of the Episode 1 Michael I. this time, that being the guy who may not look top tier, but is technically sound and can bust out some impressive dishes. His QF was right out of his bag of tricks, sautéed snails over skordalia (a Greek potato and garlic puree) with a spring onion and ouzo broth. As he mentioned, it's a treatment evocative of the isle of Crete, from which Michael apparently is descended. Which, as somebody pointed out (wish I could recall where) lays to rest the question of whether or not he's a Cretean (ha!). Speaking of which, while I try not to dwell too much on the more controversial personalities here at the TCPR, and while I realize bringing this up again runs the risk of waking a sleeping giant, I was reflecting this week on some of Mike's more colorful statements of episodes past with the benefit of some time and a little B-roll this week of him screwing around with Jennifer. And the truth is that his misogynistic money quotes could plausibly be either unforgivably offensive or playful and totally self-aware, all depending on how familiar he is with the person he's referring to and the kind of rapport they have. It's all about context. And thankfully the TC editors are all about providing us with as much accurate context as is humanly possible. My money's still on him being kind of a jerk. But the point is, who knows?!? (P.S. Though I know I'll have nobody but myself to blame, please don't run off 75 consecutive comments about whether or not Mike I. is getting the villain edit or is actually a villain. Pleeeeeeease?)

6 Eli Quickfires 0 0 1 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 0 2 0 Eli rounds out my little "just off the pace" tier, and I have him below Mike I. both because Mike had a strong-ish week and Eli got a little abuse, albeit unofficially. His QF was a little uninspired, but that's only when held against the competition. It still looked like a nice dish, with sautéed sunchokes and mushrooms and a brown butter, cream and banyuls vinegar sauce, topped with a little mint, tarragon and pea shoots. With his contribution to the elimination dish, the sauce Américaine, it's unclear to me whether he chose to ignore tradition, or was actually unaware of what the sauce traditionally is. What's not in dispute is that what he prepared isn't sauce Américaine. Describing it as "basically lobster bisque" strikes me as more than a little dubious, but if his intention was simply to try to hit on something that a non-food nerd would grasp, I suppose it isn't that ridiculous of a comparison. But still, the big departure from tradition -- even moreso than his addition of Sichuan peppercorns -- was cream. Which isn't a problem if it's good, but the judges seemed mildly annoyed by it. Or perhaps his mistake was not pushing the envelope far enough, so the judges were inclined to frame those differences as mistakes rather than reimaginings. In any case, deviating from the norm is good. Just make sure it works.

7 Ash Quickfires 0 1 0 Last Week: 10 Eliminations 0 0 1 Now's the big drop. And really, the seven spot this week is a total puzzler. Ashley was here last week, but she was on the bottom of both challenges and was nearly eliminated. Robin didn't fare much better. I'm certainly not putting Ron or Laurine at the top of the MOTPers. So even though it means a three position jump, which seems absurd for a fellow who was on the chopping block, I'm going with the guy who seems to have screwed up the least over the past couple of episodes and give Ash his moment in the sun. Besides, he's my new hero for what he said about being on the bottom of Judges' Table: "It's painful because they're right." That Ash qualifies as the hot hand at the moment is a little ridiculous, but there it is. His QF was a snail and leek galette with chanterelles (must've been one beautiful box of chanterelles hanging out in Boulud's kitchen), bacon, juniper, pernod and thyme. In the elimination, even though he was technically on the bottom, I think you have to give him a pass. There were there because of Hector, and the truth is that his sauce may have been awful, and it may have been divine. Problem is, it was completely lost. All three of my MOTPers this week were on the chopping block. With Ash, at least, it wasn't his fault.

8 Ashley Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 0 0 2 Despite some not insignificant rough patches, and to the consternation of some, Ashley still strikes me as having the most potential among the MOTPers. That said, with a week like this, I can't just leave her at number seven. If the recipe is accurate -- though I have my doubts on this one -- it isn't hard to see how she ended up on the bottom of the quickfire. Snails, mirepoix, leeks, pernod, cream, butter. Doesn't scream excitement. Her foie amuse saved her bacon, and that was even simpler -- foie, pineapple, tarragon, oil, salt and butter. But with an amuse like that, it's all in the technique. Keep it simple, make it POP. Then, on the elimination, at least her instincts didn't lead her astray. Her culinary instincts, I mean. Her instinct to let Mattin run the show, yeah, that wasn't such a good one. What I find more troubling than her poussin problems, actually, was Tom's comment that her pasta was off. That should be her bread and butter. Okay, wrong starch. But you take my point. Then Mattin lies through his teeth about shooting down the asparagus veloute idea, and she just stands there and takes it. Admirable or stupid, I'm not sure which. But in any case, Ashley just looks frazzled. I don't see her going the full Jesse route just yet, but she needs to regroup. I'm keeping her as high as I am because I think she can turn it around. But otherwise, she could drop like a stone.

9 Robin Quickfires 0 0 1 Last Week: 9 Eliminations 0 0 0 Hey, look... Robin!!! Aaaaaaand, she's nearly eliminated. Probably not the splash she wanted to make. Robin's another, like Ashley, where I feel like there's a decent cook in there trying to get out. The difference between her and Ashley is that Ashley's decent cook has, on a couple of occasions. I'd sure like to know what Tom and Boulud didn't like about her quickfire. It's interesting, I'll give it that. I have no idea what makes it "Bagels and Lox". Toasted slices of rye bread... oooooooooookay, bagel I guess. But can somebody tell me how snails poached in wine, citrus, coriander, caraway, and thyme, then paired with a saffron-citrus compound butter and a jam made with onion, shallot, leek, sherry vinegar, St. Germain liqueur, sugar and bay constitutes "lox"? Because I sure can't figure it out. Anyway, I'm guessing the judges thought it was a little busy. Just a stab in the dark. I have nothing to base this on other than my reading of the recipe. Similarly, her end of the frog legs meunière is called out for being -- natch -- a little busy. Sounds like she's trying to do a little too much.

10 Ron Quickfires 0 0 1 Last Week: 11 Eliminations 0 1 0 I don't really feel like Ron is in imminent danger, but I just can't find anything to get excited about with him. His very first dish of the competition, at least, showed some life. Since then, it's been meh, meh, meh. His QF escargot Provencal was... predictable. And he had technical issues on the frog legs, overbreading and overcooking them. If he could show a little more style like he did in the first episode -- even if it's a little clunky -- I could move him into the middle of the pack. But for now, I feel like he's in limbo, not in immediate danger, but not really doing anything interesting either.

11 Laurine Quickfires 0 0 0 Last Week: 13 Eliminations 0 0 1 Laurine is somewhat Ron-esque, except that she doesn't even have a distinctive dish to her name just yet. Well, that Moroccan lamb chop at the pool party didn't look too bad. But really, there's not much to go on here. Tom notes that the chefs were admonished not to trot out the ol' parsley, garlic and butter treatment for the snails. Then, she goes ahead and trots out parsley, garlic and butter. To be fair, it's at least an imaginative repackaging of the classic. They're in melted garlic butter with thyme, served atop a spinach risotto and drizzled with parsley oil. But it just looks like a clunker in this crowd. Then she overcooks lobster for the elimination, even if Eli's contribution to that failure might be suspect. Pasta salad momentum keeps her near the bottom. I want to see something out of her. Until then, she's near the basement...

12 Mattin Quickfires 0 1 0 Last Week: 12 Eliminations 0 0 1 ...a spot reserved, this week, for Mattin. The Frenchman butchered French. That's not a good sign. Though I must say, I'm feeling a little vindicated since I've been relatively down on him since day one. (That bit last week where I said he might be safe in the French challenge? Yeah... just ignore that.) That he flat-out lied about nixing the asparagus veloute was low, but the judges were blissfully ignorant of that fact during shooting. What he did, however, was make a terrible veloute. That puts him in their crosshairs, and in imminent danger of dismissal.

13 Hector Quickfires 0 0 0 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 0 1 2 This one totally bums me out. I really thought Hector had potential. And actually, I'll stand by that. I think he did. But you can't complain one bit about this elimination. Destroy a simple piece of meat like that in front of Tom Colicchio and you're toast. Sounds like Hector's pretty bummed about the elimination, too. I think that's the first time I've heard somebody come out and say that being eliminated when they were is going to hurt their career. I don't know if I buy that, though. Twice, the judges were unhappy with his steak. The first time, you could debate the propriety of tossing it in the fryer. This time, there was no doubt. But does anybody really think that's going to significantly reflect on what your experience would be like at his restaurant? He was on for a while. He showed some good stuff. He got his name out there. I suspect Hector'll be just fine.

14 Jesse Quickfires 0 1 3 Last Week: 14 Eliminations 0 0 2 Jesse, despite how much this competition crushed her, IS just fine. I got two more reports just this week that she's turning out some really good food at Abacrombie back in Baltimore. So she seems to have gotten past some of the paralyzing self-doubt she showed in her exit interview. What I didn't particularly like was her calling her elimination BS, as she didn't feel Robin's dish was an amuse. First off, I don't see the point in getting that pedantic about it. Whether or not Robin's tiny soup was an amuse is debatable. I've never heard anybody complain about the tiny glasses of liquids that so many of the masters turn out as amuses, and does the fact that it was in a tiny tureen rather than a tiny glass make the difference between survival and elimination? Not to hold out Rick Tramonto as an authority on the subject, but he is the only chef I know of who's devoted an entire cookbook (and a rather nice one, at that) to amuse, and he has plenty of amuse recipes that involve multiple (tiny) bites. Bottom line, if your food tastes the best, you win, and it didn't. Deal. And given that she basically pitched a tent on the chopping block starting with the very first elimination challenge and survived perhaps even a little longer than she should have, it seems to me that she's not in a position -- much as I would have liked to see her succeed -- to be too critical about the judging. Anyway, she sounds like one of those contestants who can turn out some tasty food on her own terms, but who just wasn't suited to the competition. She said she wants people to know that she doesn't suck this bad[ly], and I have it on good authority that she really doesn't. If you're in Baltimore, it sounds like Abacrombie is worth checking out.

And with that, it's back to the three ring circus!

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE FIVE SPOILERS AHEAD

The quickfire, at least, I can get behind, even if it is our second consecutive "unusual ingredient that many of you have probably never cooked with" quickfire. I don't have a lot of experience with cactus myself, so I'm not sure that I have much to say about this one. Except that Mattin has apparently never touched it. Strike one.

The elimination, meanwhile, is another survival challenge, with tiny workstations, blazing sun and a hot, difficult-to-control campfire. I don't mind the goofy and the zany with quickfires. I get a little prickly when the eliminations are so chaotic. But we'll see what happens. The kids are all right. Except for Mattin, who it appears might be attempting to sidestep the challenge entirely by making a ceviche and avoiding the open flame. Hardly seems sporting, and I doubt it'll go over well, if I'm reading this correctly. Strike two.

Y'know, I hadn't watched the preview videos until after I put Mattin in the basement, but now I'm feeling a little extra good about it. Which I guess means I'm already patting myself on the back based on what the TC editors have shown us in the previews.

What's WRONG with me?!?

Discuss!!!

Comments

[timothy]

Excellent job as usual. Thanks. I especially appreciate how specific you are in describing the ingredients. The description of Robin's pox and bagels is especially intriguing. Do you think she called it lox because of the color? I wasn't sure what some of those ingredients were? Would it have turned the snails reddish? Or could it have had a salmon-like saltiness? Anyway, interesting stuff. Thanks again.

[timothy]

Oops. Typos abound. I meant "lox" not "pox," but who knows? Perhaps it tasted less like lox, more like pox.

[Naomi]

Thanks, Dom. Spot on as usual and very insightful. Great way to start my morning :-)

[Allison]

Thanks ... I've been looking for this b/c I have a typically busy Wed. ... until I catch Top Chef in the eve. Your rankings (as usual) make sense to me.

Mattin was fortunate that Hector made a worse error last week. Sorry that Hector wasn't hanging around longer, but now can't wait for the neckerchief weasel to leave.

Well, I guess we'll see what happens this week. Must say if it's not the best season yet, it's pretty great.

[Bart]

Your splashing of cold water is pretty much what I was trying to say in the comment fields in the postmortem. Of course, you did it much more eloquently than I did, and made the point much better than I could have.

No quibble on the rankings - except maybe I'd shuffle the Ash/Ashley/Robin trio a bit. But I think that's all negligible. Of the three, we've seen plenty of Ashley, but not as much as Ash and Robin, so it's hard to say too much about them.

There's still too many contestants in the field to get a good idea of what they bring to the table, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if one of those three got on a nice little tear.

[Bart]

timothy: Pox and bagels? Could be a Medieval deli special, circa 1350!

[Independent George]

Are they cooking with the actual cactus, or prickly pears? I didn't watch the preview. Prickly pears are wonderful, but the prep is rather difficult for the inexperienced (and potentially dangerous; you have to be careful to peel away the ENTIRE layer of razor-sharp needles if you don't want to puncture a lung).

[aaalex]

i was tempted to write
"michael i: villain edit".
then write:
"michale i.: real villain"
75 times, but i just don't have the heart or the time. (though i did notice that colicchio got in on the whole editing debate by saying he thought the editors were brave to keep a person's sexist comments in the show.)

i can't argue with anything in the rankings. everything feels right. the only intriguing element is robin and she's intriguing because it's impossible to tell what's up with her. you mention that her contribution to the meuniere was called out for being overthought. i don't remember that at all. what i remember was the universal dismissal of the frogs' legs and the whole dish being saved by the adventurousness of the flavours. (keller himself noted its originality, an originality certainly not evident in the frogs' legs themselves.) so, to my mind, the reason ron is still on board is that robin's complexity made the dish better than the frogs' legs alone. (i'm guessing, of course.)

the other interesting development was ron's nasty calling out of robin and an edit that showed her being scattered and a little over-brainy, as if the editors were confirming ron's assessment of robin. i wondered if this was the start of the "problems with robin" part of this season. in one season preview, robin was called out for using her cancer as either excuse or justification by someone (eli?) who was pissed at her. so ... i kind of wonder if robin doesn't end up being "controversial" somewhere down the line.

can she cook?
she shows as much potential as ashley and ash. and although the ingredients list you noted was certainly busy, it took real hutzpah to put those things together. it didn't work, but as you pointed out, none of the snail dishes was inedible. so it worked somewhat. i'm wondering if her overthinking makes her this year's jeff or not. of course, jeff had won something by this point last year...

[Caulder]

Regarding your comments about the NEXT elimination challenge and your MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD warning would apply I suppose:

Has Mattin never seen TC? Does he not recall that Sam, whom the judges seemed to love, was PYKAG'd for doing in earnest what Mattin feels is so strategically ingenious?

Also, there seemed to be a lot of coconut milk used, not just by Mattin. That seems weird to me, given the setting.

[TxGriff]

"He has knocked out a couple of rockin' dishes and the only blemish on his record is the Greek salad where it seemed clear -- as stupid as it was -- that he didn't even bother trying."

Not to be argumentative, but Mike I. has actually had a few more "blemishes" that just weren't counted as bottom dishes. I'm fairly positive that had the men lost the Bachelor/Bachelorette party his arctic char dish would have been in the bottom as the judges did not have any kind words to say about it...in fact I'm pretty sure they really disliked it. Also, he made that potato risotto which you get the impression was just shy of being in the bottom 3, it was one of the only dishes that was called out during the walk through as having a fault (although this could just be the editing). So, they aren't official blunders, but I find them eye raising regardless.

I still probably think he should be where you put him in the rankings, despite the points mentioned above.

[Skillet Doux]

"you mention that her contribution to the meuniere was called out for being overthought. i don't remember that at all. what i remember was the universal dismissal of the frogs' legs and the whole dish being saved by the adventurousness of the flavours. (keller himself noted its originality, an originality certainly not evident in the frogs' legs themselves.) so, to my mind, the reason ron is still on board is that robin's complexity made the dish better than the frogs' legs alone. (i'm guessing, of course.)"

Y'know, in light of this I went back to review again. Keller does definitely say there's some creativity and originality, and though I remembered it sounding more like trying to find a mild positive, I suppose -- at least of what we saw -- that it could have been straight-up praise. I find it hard to read that particular quote.

Gail says the frog legs were overcooked, but the flavor of the sauce was nice. Which is about all anybody says directly about the accompaniments.

The line that lent me my impression was Robuchon's, where he talked about the flavor of the frog legs being "masked". At the time, I took that to mean that -- combined with Ron's comments that Robin was scattered and all over the place -- the other flavors were getting in the way of the frog. Watching again, it's possible he was simply referring to the heavy breading. I'm unsure which.

So I guess the jury's out on this one. A good point, though, and you could absolutely be right.

[paula]

Great stuff, Dom. My gut still tells me that Ron's departure is imminent, though. I feel like Laurine's more likely to hang on for longer than he will.

As for cactus: My mate and I made Bayless's black mole w/braised chicken, plantain tamal and grilled nopales last weekend. It was spectacular--but the only thing that didn't turn out was the cactus. Maybe we did something wrong, but the texture was slimy and revolting. And cleaning those bastards was impossible! I was pulling tiny stickers out of my hands for days. So I'm eager to see how the TCers do it.

[Skillet Doux]

"Not to be argumentative, but Mike I. has actually had a few more "blemishes" that just weren't counted as bottom dishes. I'm fairly positive that had the men lost the Bachelor/Bachelorette party his arctic char dish would have been in the bottom as the judges did not have any kind words to say about it...in fact I'm pretty sure they really disliked it. Also, he made that potato risotto which you get the impression was just shy of being in the bottom 3, it was one of the only dishes that was called out during the walk through as having a fault (although this could just be the editing). So, they aren't official blunders, but I find them eye raising regardless."

No, that's fair. You're right, had the men lost poolside, I agree that he would have been in trouble. As for the potato risotto, my impression -- without rewatching -- was that it was simply oversalted and that Peel actually rather liked it otherwise. Not that oversalting can't send you home in a heartbeat, but especially in a quickfire, I see it as more of an isolated oops than truly indicative of his skill.

"Great stuff, Dom. My gut still tells me that Ron's departure is imminent, though. I feel like Laurine's more likely to hang on for longer than he will."

Oh, absolutely. I have Ron just above her only because he's made something that got a little attention for being distinctive with unique character, even if it was in such a limited fashion. Ron is definitely among those who could disappear tonight and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. I just mean that he doesn't yet seem to be directly in the judges' crosshairs like Jesse or Eve were.

[anon man]

Generally good, but I will jump on the Michael I is a hack bandwagon. (Ok, that's strong, but hear me out.) While the B-roll of the Jen, the Mikes and Bryan screwing around in Whole Foods was really funny (and created a few, ahem, blue comments in the Anon Man household), that doesn't change that he's the ultimate hanger on. I would put him below Eli, and possibly the "Ash-s".

He made a traditional Cretian snail dish. Nice, but isn't that just a culturally different version of the tried and true garlic and bread preparation from France? (which Tom notes they were specifically told to avoid)

In the ECs, for two weeks he's been right along for the ride with the V brothers. Tom even calls him out for that in his blog, maybe setting the stage for an earlier than expected departure (or maybe not at all). Yes, he wanted to do the deconstructed sauce, but he didn't know how to do it. An idea doesn't make you a great chef on its own, especially if you can't do it.

No real quibbles in the bottom. Any of the bottom three, in my mind (including Ron) could be history at any time. Robin, I think, has a bit more diversity in her ideas and might survive longer than some of the other bottoms. And, if this actually some sort of chuckwagon catering thing this week, then I could see her breezing through, albeit quietly.

[babyarm]

My only quibble with the ranking is having MikeI at 5. In my mind he's at best 9th though I don't have the energy to articulate this point at the moment.

If I had to pick a sleeper it would be Ashley. She could be this season's Carla that gets better with the critiques and can tune her work to the judges later. If form holds 3/4 of the top 4 will make it. The fun is picking the wild card. My money is on her.

As to how to clean nopales I've only done it once, but I've seen it one other time done in a demo. You shouldn't get your hands anywhere near the prickly part. Either do it the hard way with a nail clipper or the easy way with a chefs knife as if you were shaving your legs/face.

Nopales are sort of like calamari. Either cook it real fast or real slow. Anywhere in the middle and it's horrible.

The top part is great in drinks and sauces. Just crush it and strain it through cheese cloth or something like that.

[gastro gnome]

Michael I belongs where he does on the rankings because he has finished in the top more than anyone below him. You could argue fairly convincingly that he might have ridden coat tails to two of these finishes, but he also has a quickfire top under his belt which he did all on his own. It seems pretty clear that he can cook. The question is if he has the palette and imagination to show up consistently.

Who below him would you rank higher? Ash has been pretty invisible to me, despite the thinking-on-his-feet quickfire strategy. I can't praise him because his sauce *might* have been good.

Besides the top 4 and Michael I., Eli is the only one who has more than one finish in the top (although only one was solo). He's shown enough creativity that he will be interesting to watch.

Dom, not bad to write the intro a week early, ain't it?

[paula]

babyarm: For the life of me, I can't picture "the easy way with a chef's knife as if you were shaving your legs/face." Although it does prompt this thought:

Jennifer Norris shaves her legs with a chef's knife.

[TxGriff]

"Not that oversalting can't send you home in a heartbeat, but especially in a quickfire, I see it as more of an isolated oops than truly indicative of his skill."

Good point about the saltiness issue, I wish they gave more feedback about the dish. My main point is that I agree he should be where you placed him in the rankings, although I think there is a big division between him and the top tier. No doubt he can cook, but he has been kind of inconsistent when his dishes have been judged on an individual basis. I hope one of the top four don't screw up badly and get a preemptive elimination, although it seems almost inevitable...I would love to watch the four of them cook the meals of their lives in a four-way finals :)

[Dave_P]

Great rankings, Dom. For the first time this season, I agree with every placement (well, the top 4's a tossup) since I've been pushing Ash as closer to the top of the MOTP than before. :) I'm also fine w/Mike I at 5 or 6--he and Eli are very close in skill, I think.

What's striking about the top 4 so far is that they have every win among them and only a single time at the bottom, and for a QF at that. I wonder what the other seasons look like at this stage? I also wonder how long that lasts? Hopefully, a long time, but history shows otherwise.

--
Dave

[Lon]

I too think Ashley is a real sleeper, but I think she has self-doubt and emotional issues with what's happening. She may have the technical chops, but, based on watching her during the show, I think she takes comments too much to heart and that will hurt her as time goes on. Carla and others who improved in the second half were more able to separate their feelings from their work. Ashley wears her emotions on her sleeve.

[MCH]

I think Mike deserves #5. On top of the general point that he's been in the top a lot - and I wouldn't sell short an escargot dish that got raves from Daniel frickin' Boulud - I'd note that even if the dish was mostly not his in concept, he executed what appears to be some seriously high-wire cooking with that deconstructed bearnaise.

[dc]

New fan to Top Chef. Love your blog to help me itch my new scratch. -.-

I believe Mike I. gets the villain edit by taking his regional/ethnic cultural idiosyncrasy out of context. I recently did an audio-course on gender and cultural communications which explained it (Communication Matters I: He Said, She Said, Women, Men and Language by Deborah Tannen). A stereotype doesn't make it untrue. Considering Mike I. is American of Mediterranean descent (greek/italian) from the Mid-Atlantic region, both men and women tend to be boisterous, outspoken, curse like no tomorrow, even in professional context (I've had 2 wonderful Italian-American officemates who communicated in this manner), playfully insult joke banter to friends and family alike, the closer and more comfortable they are the more banter flies. This can be jarring to people in other upbringings not used to that style of communication. In one story, a woman who transplanted to the midwest, before she learned to hold herself back, had to repeatedly apologize for herself when her innocent playful joking around would get her new friends upset, causing unintended hurt feelings.

[SorchaRei]

I'd note that even if the dish was mostly not his in concept, he executed what appears to be some seriously high-wire cooking with that deconstructed bearnaise.

To steal a line from Tom in season 1, this is Top Chef, not Top Line Cook. If you worked the line in Bryan V's restaurant, you could execute that deconstructed bernaise, too. You might be a future executive chef, or you might be a lifer on the line, but you could do the sauce. Cooking skill is a necessary part of winning this contest, but it's not the whole thing. I think that Mike has the cooking chops, but you can't convince me (yet) that he has the creativity or the ability to execute solo.

[Anne]

Somebody above mentioned that Sam had gotten eliminated for doing something similar to what Mattin does. I can't remember, what happened?

That better be one good ceviche.

[Brent]

Question for Dom, or anyone who wants to weigh in. Most of hate (relatively speaking) the gimmicky challenges of the type we're about to watch tonight. Mostly because (I assume) we fear that they will result in the gimmicky elimination of someone strong. Straightforward cooking contest = less possibility a top dog will go home. Gimmicky cooking contest = greater possibility a top dog will go home.

My question is: Has it actually played out that way? Have top contenders gone home in seasons past in these types of challenges? Or if you're a top dog, are your odds of winning about the same regardless of the type of challenge.

Two of the most talked-about eliminations are those of Tre and Dale T., but those both happened in Restauraunt Wars.

How about the goofy challenges? Have shocking or very disappointing eliminations happened in those?

[Dreamboat]

Here is an article about Eli's restaurant in Atlanta.

http://blogs.ajc.com/food-and-more/2009/09/14/restaurant-stories-eno-restaurant-wine-bar/?cxntfid=blogs_food_and_more

John Kessler wrote an article about Hector last week, so I hope this is not the kiss of death.

About Hector, I wish he was here for this quickfire. Given his background I bet he has cooked with cactus before and might have given us a great quickfire.

And about the goofy challenges, I have one thing to say: Smurf Village. When you have one of TC's all time best contestants making something as goofy as a Smurf Village then there is something wrong. I want to see these guys cook, not trying to make the best of some dumb set of ingredients or conditions. I guess that is why I like TCM so much. JMHO

[Megan H.]

Anne - If memory serves, Sam was eliminated in season two for serving only raw dishes in the semifinal. As Tom says, "It's a cooking show. He didn't cook anything!"

Brent - I cannot recall any top tier chef being sent home on a wacky elimination challenge. Doing poorly on wacky quickfires, yes, but not sent home. (Unless you count CJ going home on the "cook on an airplane" challenge?? But I don't think he was really counted as a "top tier" chef. I just liked him.)

[rab01]

I loved, loved, loved the smurf village. I thought it was one of Hung's top-five moments on the show. And, that's not a knock, he was my favorite contestant that season. Go back and rewatch the extended clip of all of his competitors/colleagues cracking up with him during that one.

The defining moments on TC are when one of them does something amazingly awesome when placed in a situation of strange restraints. Witout some "gimmicky" challenges, the show would lose some important qualities.

Sam didn't get eliminated for doing a ceviche. It's just that at Judge's Table, Tom complained that both of his dishes in the penultimate challenge were raw and therefore did not demonstrate as wide a range of techiniques.

[Independent George]

The thing that bugged me the most about Hung's Smurf Village is the fact that he got put on the bottom for it. I thought that was an absolutely response to an absolutely ludicrous challenge (I think it was a $10 budget in a randomly determined grocery store aisle.) I can understand not winning - I imagine it tasted like a sugary mess - but given the constraints, I thought he should have gotten credit for the creativity.

I guess that kind of makes your point for you, doesn't it?

[anon man]

Can we stop obsessing about the smurf village, please. Every season has a stupid challenge or two, especially in the quick fire. From the cook something with our sponsor's product (Uncle Ben's, Dr. Pepper) to cook something from this random thing (supermarket aisle, vending machine). But, its at best for immunity, or maybe a "leg up" or special prize. This season, they have these high stakes ones, and I kind of like them. Those, if you haven't noticed, aren't gimmicky. Cook with snails. If you screw up, make an amuse. Screw that up, go home. Its not like they dumped the contestants at Costco and said make something yummy out of the crap they are sampling today or go home. The two high stakes challenges so far have been very straight-forward, as they should be.

[fr]

It amuses me how many times the chefs on this show (past seasons included) have overcooked lobster and been called out for it. I was at Craftsteak a few months ago and I swear, I had terribly overcooked lobster. I came SO close to sending it back...but alas i ate it anyway.

[Cici]

My read on Ashley's been that she might be one of those contestants that's more affected by the grueling schedule than others. She just seems less composed and more tired each week. I can see her retreating further toward the safe choice each future challenge as her brain continues to slow down from exhaustion, rather than busting out with real fight and creativity.

[Allison]

fr,

I'm in the camp that when in doubt, undercook ... you can always cook more. I should also admit that I'm allergic to shellfish, have no idea what lobster tastes like (I'm sorry, wish I did), and that I prefer meat cooked on the rare side.

[Independent George]

And the curse of Dom continues... five for five on the chopping block.

[aaalex]

curse continues, but also putting michael i up at #5 looks pretty smart, too.

i'm wondering if you have an inside track, dominic.
it's either that or you'll have to be burned as a witch.

[babyarm]

The Ashley bandwagon is leaving the station soon. A few seats remain.

[Skillet Doux]

Regarding refrigeration, you'd be surprised what you can do with a well-packed cooler, even for extended periods of time. I went to Burning Man a few times in the late-90s. You think I was eating Pop Tarts and canned chili? :-)

Plus, the desert cools off more than many people realize at night. Average nighttime lows in Vegas in May (when this was shot) are in the upper 50s or lower 60s, and record lows are below freezing. And that's in the city, which I believe typically stays warmer than surrounding country because of pollution issues, yes?

Anyway, yes, fish is more challenging than other products. But as long as it was well-packed, it shouldn't have been a problem to keep it plenty cold overnight.

Plus, we're kind of just speculating about the facilities. They could have brought in fresh ice every few hours or something.